We simulated Man City vs Tottenham as Ange Postecoglou handed huge blow
One of the toughest fixtures of the season awaits Tottenham when they return from the international break, with Spurs facing a trip to Manchester City in the premier League.
Spurs fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Ipswich Town in their last Premier League game before the international break, handing the Tractor Boys their first victory of the season as Spurs dropped to 10th in the table. But, just three points separate the Lilywhites from third place, and Ange Postecoglou will be looking to bounce back to winning ways when they take on Man City later today.
Spurs against Man City is one of the blockbuster fixtures each year, with the two sides always producing a good game of football. The two sides have already met once this season, with Spurs winning 2-1 at home against Pep Guardiola's side in the Carabao Cup. Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both remain out for the trip to City, meaning Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies will likely start in defence.
READ MORE: 18 players could miss Man City vs Tottenham as injury crisis mounts
READ MORE: How to watch Man City vs Tottenham - TV channel, live stream details and kick-off time
So, can Spurs avoid a third defeat in a row later today? Let's take a look.
We simulated Man City vs Spurs to get a score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that City could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Lewis, Gundogan; Silva, De Bruyne, Savio; Haaland.
We predict that Spurs could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Vicario; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
Spurs got off to the worst start possible at the Etihad Stadium, with Savio's driven cross into the box deflecting off the leg of Dragusin and into his own net, putting the hosts 1-0 up within three minutes. Defensively, Postecoglou's side were a shambles early on, and nine minutes in, they were two goals down.
Savio was once again causing issues down the left, this time with the Brazilian beating Pedro Porro before flashing a shot across goal. Guglielmo Vicario parried the shot away from goal where Kevin De Bruyne fired onto the post, but it was third time lucky for City, with the rebound falling to Bernardo Silva who tapped into an empty net.
City's domination didn't slow down in the first half, and just before the break, Porro pulled down Haaland in the box, resulting in a penalty being awarded. Haaland stepped up to take, and he dispatched his spot kick, making it 3-0 before half-time.
If Spurs wanted anything from the game, a strong start to the second half was needed. But, quite the opposite occurred, and Haaland managed to grab his second and City's fourth as they piled on the misery for Postecoglou's side.
De Bruyne picked out the well-timed run of Haaland as the Norwegian beat Spurs' high line with ease, and some great footwork from the striker saw him ease past the recovering Ben Davies before surging towards goal. One-on-one, Haaland curled his shot around Vicario into the bottom corner, making it 4-0 in just 51 minutes.
The day went from bad to worse for Spurs an hour in when Heung-Min Son was forced off with an injury, and with 20 minute's to go, Porro was sent off after picking up a second yellow card. Despite dropping down to 10 men, no more goals arrived as Spurs suffered a big defeat on the road.
EA FC 25 predicted final score: Man City 4-0 Spurs
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!